Trade
The Venetians are known for being great traders and merchants, and were one of the first European cities to establish contact and a flourishing trade with the East. Their rival city was Genoa, another city in Italy and Christopher Columbus’s home town. Genoa and Venice would compete to trade with the East.
One of the goods that Venice is able to produce easily is salt. Since Venice is surrounded by ocean, it has been producing sea salt since the first inhabitants. Venice has no agricultural land to farm and the fortunes of Venice have always been linked to the sea. Sea salt became a valuable commodity for the Venetians in the beginnings of Venice’s rise to influential power in the Middle Ages. The Venetians traded their sea salt with the mainland states of Italy for goods such as grain and wine.
Timber is very important to Venice because it is what supports the foundation of Venice; the buildings of Venice are supported by millions of larch poles driven into the muddy islets. Wood is also very important because it is what provided the main source for shipbuilding. Shipbuilding was an essential industry for a flourishing trade with Asia, and is what caused Venice to become a great trading city.
One of Venice’s oldest specialties is glassware. Today, this industry has declined considerably, partly due to the fact that the fumes produced by this ancient art contribute to the corrosion of Venice’s foundation. When the glass trade was prominent, the glass fumes was a danger to the city, and all productions were moved to the nearby island of Murano.
One of the goods that Venice is able to produce easily is salt. Since Venice is surrounded by ocean, it has been producing sea salt since the first inhabitants. Venice has no agricultural land to farm and the fortunes of Venice have always been linked to the sea. Sea salt became a valuable commodity for the Venetians in the beginnings of Venice’s rise to influential power in the Middle Ages. The Venetians traded their sea salt with the mainland states of Italy for goods such as grain and wine.
Timber is very important to Venice because it is what supports the foundation of Venice; the buildings of Venice are supported by millions of larch poles driven into the muddy islets. Wood is also very important because it is what provided the main source for shipbuilding. Shipbuilding was an essential industry for a flourishing trade with Asia, and is what caused Venice to become a great trading city.
One of Venice’s oldest specialties is glassware. Today, this industry has declined considerably, partly due to the fact that the fumes produced by this ancient art contribute to the corrosion of Venice’s foundation. When the glass trade was prominent, the glass fumes was a danger to the city, and all productions were moved to the nearby island of Murano.